1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to boots used for alpine skiing, and more specifically relates to an apparatus for wedging the heel of the foot of a user or skier in such boot.
2. Description of Background Art and Relevant Information
Wedging of the heel, and, more generally, of the foot, of a skier in its entirety, is often achieved by using a thickened portion which is positioned and attached within the upper portion of the boot. Such thickened portions are generally produced as part of a conventional internal bootie or applied thereto by, e.g., gluing, sewing, heat-welding, or other means, as, for example, is the case in French Pat. No. 1,006,263, U.S. Pat. No. 2,531,763, or French Pat. No. 1,055,295. The use of such thickened portions does not, however, provide for adjustment in the position or thickness of the wedging structure as a function of the particular morphology of the foot of the wearer.
Holddown apparatus for the heels of skiers, which apparatus squeezes the heel from the rear upper portion of the heel towards the lower zone of the malleoli of the skier, have been proposed both in Swiss Pat. No. 365,972 and in French Pat. No. 2,180,315. In these devices, adjustment of the position or thickness of the thickened portion becomes possible by acting on a fastening structure for the boot, e.g., a buckle, tightener, or a pressurized air pocket. Such apparatus are extremely complex in construction.
In other boots, e.g., those described in French Pat. No. 2,342,039, Swiss Pat. No. 626,793, and Italian Pat. No. 1,069,934, wedges are provided in the form of removable thickened portions which are adapted to be used with an interior bootie by introducing the wedges into pockets provided for this purpose or by hooking the wedges onto self-gripping straps. Such apparatus, however, offer only a single possibility for (the amount and position of) wedging through the use of removable thickened portions which must be replaced by other thickened portions to obtain a different wedging result.
Other solutions to the problem of heel wedging have been proposed in, e.g., French Patent Application No. 2,334,315, French Pat. No. 2,405,665, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,945,135, all of which describe heel wedging apparatus which are adjustable by wedges which are movable in their wedging positions, and which are different from the devices previously explained insofar as they are fixed in place so that they will not be removable. Such apparatus, which can have their positions effectively adjusted, are extremely mechanically complex, and further require changes so that they can be adapted for use in the shell of the boot of a skier. These solutions, accordingly, are less than desireable in view of the increased price and cost, which is disproportional to the expected results from their use.